of pens and keyboards
by AW Hawk
Summary: WASN'T EVEN SURE WHICH CATEGORY THIS ACTUALLY WENT INTO! It was pretty much just random. :D Hope you enjoy this one-shot.


Stranger chat

Emails

Letters

Through life – start as children

Sean hit the send button as the next girl walked over to him, looking up with a bright grin as he tucked his phone back into his pocket and glancing at her name tag

"Hey Katie, how are you today?"

"It's the best day of my life!" The young girl informed him brightly, blush staining her cheeks a rosy red as she shook his hand

"And this is your..."

"Friend of my mum! She's why I could come today – mum and dad couldn't make it, so she agreed to take me! Right Fei?"

"Yup." Fei smiled, polite and warm, before a sharp hum rang from her pocket

"She doesn't watch your stuff." Katie informed Sean "But I do!"

"I can tell." Sean chuckled, tugging at the shirt Katie was wearing, "Love the shirt by the way."

"Fei bought it for me for my birthday!" Katie replied, pulling it down to reveal her white bra strap.

"Even though she doesn't like us?" Sean coughed, turning away.

"Oh she doesn't not _like _you, she just doesn't care about you." Katie said in a way that indicated she was reciting something she had heard many times before

"And that's so much better…" Sean flicked his eyes to Fei who winced

"Erm, sorry?"

"Right…"

"Fei's honest." Katie shrugged, drawing Sean's attention back "I think its cool. How's your day been? Fun? Tiring?"

"Fantastic, actually." Sean grinned, a little thrown by the quick change in topic "Had a sleep in till about 10."

"Aw lucky! My mum always gets me up at nine, even on weekends!"

"Well I'm up at five most days."

"_Wow_! Even dad doesn't get up that early! He works at a factory. Do you like cars?"

"Sure do." Sean glanced at the girl's name tag again, but there was nothing but her name

"Hoping to buy one next year."

"Why not now?"

"Insurance premiums are a tad too expensive."

"My dad complains about insurance a lot. But when I went to see the doctors he said it was good we had it. Did you get over your cold then?"

_Doctors. _"Yep, about a week ago. It's sweet of you to ask."

"Katie," Fei tapped the younger girl on the head and pointed to the rows of chairs, message obviously finished "I think it's time to sit down."

"Okay! I'll see you after then?"

"For the lunch." Sean agreed "It's going to be heaps of fun."

"I know!"

Katie smiled and then trotted off. Fei offered Sean a quick smile

"AHD." She said, before going after Katie

"Friendly girl." James commented, handing Sean a bottle of water "Bit more sensible than some of the others."

"Dragged her parent's friend along too." Sean replied and opened the bottle. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he dug it out with one hand, smiling when he saw JT's reply

"Yeah, I kinda pity her. Ready to go?"

"Mm." Sean handed the open bottle back to James and opened the email

_(?)_

"Sean, seriously, you can't – oh, JT finally reply?"

"Shut up."

"Didn't say anything." James snorted "C'mon, you've got to at least sit there looking pretty."

"Shut. Up." Sean growled as their interview started to warm up the crowd

"Well if you wear your hair in pigtails – "

"You tied them when I was asleep!"

"Dude, when you didn't take them out immediately, that's a weak argument." James grinned, ducked Sean's jab and walked onto the make shift stage, waving at the crowd

_And I hate Nut._

_NS_

Sean didn't put his phone back in his pocket as he joined James and Tylor at the table; if he wasn't going to be able to talk to JT for a good while, he could make it up to Smith later. It took a good few minutes for the cheering to quiet down, and another two or three for the obligatory name introductions

"So, how do you boys like Perox so far?"

"It's brilliant." Sean replied, quick and smooth, smile widening as he felt his mobile vibrate "You guys get _sun_!"

James carried on, launching into a story about their visit to the beach that ended with sausage squished between his toes, as Sean flipped open his mobile

_(?)_

Sean hit send just at the interview started the next question "And you're doing a live show this week?"

"Yup. At the NS studios. We've got guests, cushions, puppets – they even said they'd try to scrounge up some cookies and puzzle games." Sean flashed a quicksilver grin as the crowd laughed.

And as fate, luck, destiny – it had to be _something _– would have it, he just happened to spot Fei, seated in the second row next to Katie and reading something on her phone. He thought absolutely nothing of it besides perhaps it was a little rude (but then he was doing the same thing, so he dismissed that thought pretty quickly). Except then she looked back up, and his phone vibrated a moment later.

(_JT)_

Now once (twice?) could be a coincidence, so of course he had to test it.

_(xx NS)_

(_JT)_

_(xx NS)_

(_JT)_

_(xx NS)_

(_JT)_

"Dude, you talking to your secret girlfriend or something?" Tylor demanded with a smile, brining another laugh from the crowd and interviewer. Sean wrenched his eyes away from the young woman – _JT, friend, emails, crush, real, here, shit _– and grinned so wide ithurt his cheeks

"Secret."

"Hey, c'mon man, no one's around to hear. 'cept those guys, but you won't tell right?" James asked the crowd, keeping the situation light hearted as Tylor slid an arm around Sean's shoulders and leant down

"Okay?"

No. Yes. Maybe. So so not.

"Here, take this." Sean pushed his phone into Tylor's hand under the table, and studiously did _not _look at Fei for the rest of the interview

"Want to tell us what's going on?"

"No." Sean replied shortly, shrugging on his jacket

"Okay. Want your phone back?"

"No. Yes. No. Yes – give it to me."

Tylor stared as Sean grabbed his phone and shoved it into his pocket "Dude."

"It's nothing. I'm fine."

Lunch, then question time, then autographs, then pictures. They were booked for rehearsals at 4:30, meaning they had to be in the car by four. It was quarter too, and Sean had written and trashed more drafts then he could count.

_Alternatively,_ a little voice whispered, _you could just go up to her._

Not a chance.

_You ever wish we could meet in real life?_

She blinked twice, before tapping out a short reply

_No. _

_Why?_

_What brought this on?_

_Why?_

That got him a raised eyebrow and a hesitant pause, before

_This is perfect. Just this. It's like one of my imaginary friends have come to life. I'm not like this in real life. I told you about that right? Don't know if this is real or if it's the fake. _

_I don't want to ruin it._

Ruin it.

The realisation that he had found her, seen her, that she was _here, _wasn't anything like he had expected; no swooping stomach, no elation or joy or fluttering heart – it was more a twist to his gut, confusion and fright and uncertainty tangling into an ugly mess.

She wasn't anything like he had dreamed about, skin blemished with marks left from teenage hormones, hair dry and pulled in a messy loose ponytail, normal green eyes that weren't like soft moss or chipped jade or the cool welcoming forest but…just green. Voice normal, tone flat, polite and civil, could hold a conversation, but no answers or questions beyond the repetitions he gets everyday. No evidence of the sharp tongue or quick mind or perceptiveness that came through in the emails. This girl, this gorgeous funny witty charming intelligent girl who was everything he could ever dream about on paper…When you love someone, isn't that love meant to be enough?

"Hey, you guys heading off?"

"Yep. Gotta get home for dinner." Katie smiled

"Well it was lovely meeting you." Sean said, and kissed her hand lightly. The young girl squealed and then giggled, holding her hand against her chest, pulling her low cut shirt a tad bit down which made Sean look away and clear his throat.

"And you too." Sean smiled at Fei and held out his hand, couldn't help the slight shake that ran through his arm

"Yeah." Fei grasped his hand "Thanks for today."

There was no spark, no buzz, no jolt – just slightly damp skin, a little warm, not particularly soft and not particularly rough, loose and forgettable

"Man, I'm pooped." James groaned, sinking onto one the couches

"No time for that," Tylor nudged the older boy "Rehearsals."

"Nmph." James waved Tylor away sluggishly, closing his eyes "You go."

"Ha ha. Sean?"

"Nn."

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing."

He kept watching as Fei found a taxi, helped Katie get in, chatted to the driver, and then got in herself. Watching, waiting for something to happen. Something that would make him run out, flag down the taxi, chase it down the road, stop it and tell her, tell her _hi _and _I'm Sean _and _you're the girl I've been dreaming of for years. F_or the sun it hit her just right, for her to smile that one smile that made him want to give her the world, for her to laugh that particular laugh that would –

"Dude, what is so interesting about an empty parking lot?"

Ruin it.

"You mean you can't see it?"

"What?"

"The ghost."

"What?!" James jumped up from the couch "Ghost? What? Really? Where?!"

"…you guys are _weird_."

Ruin it indeed.

_Because reality is never better than your dreams._

The End.


End file.
